Juror Number 9
by wizardofahz
Summary: "Annie had never seen Joan look so flustered before nor had she ever imagined that she would witness Joan being rebuked as if she were a small child."


Disclaimer: I don't own _Covert __Affairs_. If I did, every episode would have more Joan. A lot more Joan. Joan being badass. Joan in the field. Joan being funny. Joan in cute, casual clothes. Joan's backstory being developed. Joan in… Is it obvious yet that I watch the show for Joan?

A/N: I loved Joan's courtroom scenes in "Good Advices", and therefore this little idea – spawned long ago – has slowly developed itself into a little fic.

…

How things had gotten out of hand so quickly, no one knew.

It was supposed to be an easy morning. It was supposed to be an easy assignment. They were supposed to be in and out of the courthouse in a matter of minutes.

All the "supposed"s be damned. Instead, things had gone sideways, and Joan and Annie found themselves ducking about and evading courthouse security. Believing the closest occupied yet open courtroom to be a good cover location, Joan directed Annie into it.

"All rise. This court is now in session. The honorable Judge…"

Paying little attention to the room's happenings, Joan leaned towards Annie as they resumed sitting and muttered, "We'll wait here until we get a signal from Auggie." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and glanced down at it. "It shouldn't take very lon–"

"Juror Number 9!"

Joan's head snapped towards the front of the room. Her eyes widened in horror as she registered whom the presiding judge was.

"Your Honor!" She laughed nervously. "Your Honor, I…"

"Save it, Number 9. While you are here in my courtroom, you will be on your best behavior. I will not have you disrupt these proceedings. Are we clear?"

Forgetting she still had her cell phone in her hands, Joan began to gesture as she spoke. "Your Honor, I wouldn't…"

The judge's eyes narrowed even further as they caught sight of the phone. "Do I need to have your phone confiscated again, Number 9?"

"No, Your Honor," Joan said quickly. "You won't hear another peep out of me."

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, clasped her hands in her lap, and stared straight ahead – the quintessential image of a scolded child suddenly attempting to behave.

Annie had never seen Joan look so flustered before nor had she ever imagined that she would witness Joan being rebuked as if she were a small child.

Annie waited for Joan's cue to leave, and Joan waited for the judge to stop shooting suspicious glances at her. Unfortunately for the pair of them, the slightest movement from Joan elicited a glare and tightly pursed lips from the judge. Even as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket (at which point she quickly moved to silence it), Joan didn't dare to take a peek to see if Auggie had given the all clear.

As their time in the courtroom passed from minutes turned into hours, Annie didn't know whether to be amused or nervous. On the one hand, it wasn't everyday that one saw their boss be treated like a naughty schoolchild. On the other hand, she was feeling a whole lot of guilt-by-association. She too was getting a lot of glares from the judge. It was as if the judge was sure Annie would do or aid in whatever Joan had previously done to get on the judge's bad side.

They ended up sitting through the rest of the day's proceedings.

Breathing a sigh of relief as the judge ended the day's proceedings, Joan quickly escaped the courtroom, Annie close behind.

As they exited the courthouse, Joan turned to Annie and said tensely, "Annie, not a word of this to anyone."

Though she was sure Auggie and especially Jai would enjoy the story, she replied, "My lips are sealed."

…

"Hi there," Auggie greeted Joan and Annie as they entered the DPD. "What took you two so long? I sent you the all clear signal hours ago. Did something happen?"

Needless to say, he didn't catch the exchange of glances between Joan and Annie. However, he didn't need his sight to feel the slightly awkward atmosphere that had entered with them.

"Nah," Annie said as casually as she could.

"Annie and I had a slight detour. Everything's fine. I'll be in my office if you need me."

Auggie heard Joan quickly leave in the direction of her office.

"Sorry," Annie said moving towards her desk and guiding him along. "We should've let you know."

"That's ok."

Despite his reassurance, his curiosity had been piqued. He considered his options. He was pretty sure there was no way he'd get anything from Joan, so that meant Annie.

He'd ask her about it later.

There was nothing she could keep from him.

…

_**fin**_


End file.
